


A Dragon in the Hinterlands

by Willowflower_Waterlily



Series: Emma [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-06 17:51:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3143267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willowflower_Waterlily/pseuds/Willowflower_Waterlily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma and Cullen get into a fight before she has to go slay a dragon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Dearest Commander Brother,_

_There is a dragon plaguing our village. We require Inquisition aid swiftly. A farm has been raised, and three children have been killed. Please, we need help. We will be forced to face this on our own otherwise, and I fear we do not have enough to take the dragon on._

_Your sister,_  
_Mia_

Cullen rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably as the three women in the war room had looks of disapproval of varying degrees.

"Were you ever going to tell us about this if your sister didn't send us letters as well?" Emma asked, her emerald green eyes glaring at him.

"I wasn't. It seemed inappropriate to send Inquisition forces. I-"

"Stop right there! You do not get to decide on your own what is or is not appropriate use of resources. We talked it over and I am going to get a few people and go myself."

"No you aren't, it's too dangerous."

"Yes I am. People are suffering out there, and three children have already died. I will help them."

"No!" Cullen shouted losing a grip on his angry. "Send out forces. It is too dangerous to take on a dragon with a small group."

"Because I've never done that before." Retorted Emma

"Andraste's flaming knickers, do you have a death wish?!"

"No, but you made it impossible for us to send troops there with enough haste to get take this dragon out quickly. Four people will travel faster."

"Do not do this!"

"I am going and the discussion about this is over." Emma Levellan turned on her heels and started toward the door. Before he could stop himself, Cullen slammed his fist on the table, startling the three women.

"If you fight that dragon," Cullen growled, "do not come back to me." To his surprise, Emma slowly turned around, and walked back to the table. Without looking at him, she placed a coin on the table.

"Have it your way." She said softly before walking out of the room. Leliana and Josephine tip toed out of the room as Cullen walked around the table to pick up the coin. His coin, the one he gave her. Staring at it, he went over in his head what had just happened. How could have have been so stupid to say those things; why didn't he ever think, especially when his temper was getting the better of him.

"Alright what did you do to have our fearless leader so grouchy?" Dorian asked, startling Cullen.

"Maker's breath, Dorian you startled me."

"You're startled?! Try waking up to an angry elf shouting up the tower for you to get your ass ready to go in ten minutes or less. She was mumbling curses in Elven, so I figured it must have been a lover's quarrel." Dorian waited for information that Cullen was not ready to divulge. "Oh well, suit yourself, just don't leave it this way before she goes. We are fighting a dragon after all. Do you really want whatever it was you said to make her angry be the last thing you ever say to her? You'd better be quick too, she was looking to leave in a hurry, she probably already has Varric and Iron Bull at the stables. All she has to do to get Iron Bull to come along is to say 'dragon' and 'kill'..." Cullen watched as Dorian quickly walked out of the war room, and briefly considered Dorian's advice before dismissing it, his pride getting in the way of common sense.


	2. Chapter 2

"You should have waited for Cullen." Dorian said, exasperated at his best friend and leader. He watched the tips of her ears get almost as red as her hair before she spoke.

"He wasn't going to come." Emma replied, "besides, this dragon isn't going to kill itself while we sit around waiting for the commander to tell me not to come back to him after killing the dragon."

"He didn't say that, did he?"

"Oh yes." Dorian watched Emma struggle between sadness and anger as she muttered what he could only imagine were very creative curses in elven.


	3. Chapter 3

Cullen paced in tight circles in his office, unable to do much else other than repeat what he had said to Emma over and over in his head, like a chant.

"Commander, you know if you keep pacing like that, you'll eventually have a hole in your floor." Leliana said, slightly amused.

"This isn't funny."

"Oh, I disagree. I think this is most entertaining. However, Cullen, you will need to find a way to make amends. You and she compliment one another, the two of you are a perfect pair. It doesn't happen very often. The only other time I've witnessed such a union of souls is when I traveled with Marie and Alistair." Leliana sighed wistfully as she left Cullen to think on what she had told him.


	4. Chapter 4

The shouting can be heard well before they reach the camp. A woman shouting at Inquisition scouts at the camp. They were doing a very poor job of talking her down. Entering camp, the resemblance the woman has to Cullen is striking. As tall as he with the same curly blond hair and golden brown eyes. Equally as intimidating as well.

"You must be Mia. I'm Inquisitor Emma Lavellan." She held her hand out to shake Mia's.

"So my hard headed baby brother decided to send us help after all." Varric snickers in the background, and reminds himself to put this in his next book.

"I'm afraid not. We got into a fight about this, and I gathered up this small group and headed out." Emma turned toward her group. "Get your stuff settled and rest up, we strike within the hour."

"We want to help. In anyway we can."

"Okay. Try to stay in cover and pelt the dragon with arrows, Varric will be with you. Dorian and I will cast from another spot. Bull will be drawing its attention in melee. If you get the dragon's attention, move. No burnt bodies on my watch."

"Damn right Boss." Bull said as he casually stretched with his maul overhead.


	5. Chapter 5

A horn sounded, jarring Cullen from mindlessly doing paper work. They were back. He ran out of his office and down to the gate. Dorian, the Iron Bull, and Varric all greeted him, but were unable to make eye contact. They all were injured to a degree.

"Where is she? What happened?" Cullen looked from one to the next, trying to keep his fear from choking him.

"The Boss...She didn't make it. We were fighting the dragon, and it went after your sister. Boss Lady pushed her out of the way, but couldn't move fast enough. The dragon's breath killed her." Cullen dropped to his knees numb, staring at the earth beneath him. 

"Where is her body?"

"We tried to lift her, but her body evaporated into a pile of ash and scattered to the breeze. I'm sorry Commander." The Iron Bull put his hand on Cullen's shoulder before walking off with Dorian and Varric to see the healer. Tears ran down Cullen's cheeks unnoticed as he repeated what he said to her over and over again in his mind. Pain and guilt swirled around him like rain and wind in a fierce storm as he knelt in the dirt unable to move.


	6. Chapter 6

"Wake up!" Dorian shook Cullen awake. "You have to come quickly. Follow me" Dorian ran out of the room, with Cullen behind him. Running through what was Solas's room, and the main hall, they enter Emma's quarters. Passing Dorian, Cullen ran up the stair two at a time, reach the top to find a very confused Emma. "I told you if you didn't go see him, I would bring him to you..." Dorian sighed as he left them. What was he going to do with them.

Emma and Cullen stared at each other, Cullen's face still wet from crying in his sleep. He quickly strode across the room and touched her to make sure she was real, and not a figment of his imagination. Then he embraced her. "I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry. I..." He cried into her hair, holding her close.

"There, there ma vhenan. I forgive you."She gently ran her fingers through his hair, comforting him as he cried. When they broke their embrace, Emma placed her hand on his face, and he leaned into it. "What happened while I was away? Are you okay?"

"I had a nightmare, Dorian woke me up from it. I dreamed that you were killed by the dragon because you were too slow to get out of the way after pushing my sister to the side. That you were ash scattered to the wind and I couldn't even give you a proper funeral." He felt a tightness in his chest from the pain her felt reliving the nightmare, and the pain Emma saw in his eyes broke her heart.

"Your sister was there, helping with the dragon... All three of your siblings in fact. They insisted. We mostly made it out of that fight with no scratches. Except for Bull of course, he has a nice new scar added to the collection. Mia actually got the killing shot, we gave her the dragon's head as a trophy." Cullen looked at her shocked, trying to push down the anger he was feeling about his siblings being involved. Seeing that Emma said, "they were going to help one way or another, if I let them or not. This way I was able to position them somewhere with cover, and they were still able to help at range. We happened upon Mia trying to intimidate the scouts into letting them fight the dragon on their own. So it could have gone much worse." Cullen winced at that, the thought of losing all of his siblings was too much to even think about.

"What about you? Are you okay." He looked her over, concered.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Apart from the bruise that is, though my ego took a worse bruising. I, um... I fell off my halla..." Emma blushed a bright pink.

"You what?!"

"I fell off my halla. Though I did manage to drink Dorian and Varric under the table so there is that." She looked at Cullen in the eyes, uncertain. "Are we...um, okay...I mean us and what we had..." Emma looked away, unsure of what he might say. Cullen caressed her cheek, and made her look at him. Leaning down, he kissed her gently, wraping his arms around her. Holding Emma close, he whispered in her ear. "Of course we are my love. No matter what happens, I will always want to be by your side."

"By the way, vhenan, there is a letter from your sister in my bag."


	7. Chapter 7

_Dear thick headed (but loveable) baby brother,_

  
_Your Emma is the most singular woman I ever met. Don't let her go, you would regret it. We're all going to be paying a visit to Skyhold in the near future. It's past time you met your nieces and nephews. Perhaps we could play some chess, it's been too long._

_Love,_   
_Mia_


End file.
